1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bipolar transistor and, more particularly, to a bipolar transistor with an ultra-small, self-aligned polysilicon emitter and a method of forming the transistor.
2. Description of the Related Art
A bipolar transistor is a three-terminal device that can, when properly biased, controllably vary the magnitude of the current that flows between two of the terminals. The three terminals include a base terminal, a collector terminal, and an emitter terminal. The charge carriers, which form the current, flow between the collector and the emitter terminals, while variations in the voltage on the base terminal cause the magnitude of the current to vary.
Due to the increasing demand for battery-powered devices, there is a need for a bipolar transistor that utilizes less power. Lower power consumption can be obtained by reducing the maximum current that can flow between the two terminals. One approach for reducing the maximum current is to reduce the size of the base-to-emitter junction, preferably to sub-lithographic feature sizes.
FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional diagram that illustrates a portion of a prior-art bipolar transistor 100 that has a base-to-emitter junction with a sub-lithographic width. As shown in FIG. 1, transistor 100 includes a collector layer 110, a base layer 112 that is formed on collector layer 110, and a field oxide region FOX that adjoins layer 112. In addition, transistor 100 includes a thin oxide layer 114 that is formed on a portion of base layer 112 and the field oxide region FOX, and an n+ extrinsic emitter 116 that is formed on thin oxide layer 114.
As further shown in FIG. 1, transistor 100 also includes an n+ intrinsic emitter region 118 that is formed in base layer 112, and an n+ poly ridge 120 that is connected to extrinsic emitter 116 and n+ intrinsic emitter region 118. Extrinsic emitter 116, intrinsic emitter region 118, and poly ridge 120 form the emitter of transistor 100.
Transistor 100 additionally includes a base silicide contact 122 that is formed on base layer 112, and an emitter silicide contact 124 that is formed on extrinsic emitter 116. In addition, an oxide spacer 126 is formed on base layer 112 between poly ridge 120 and base contact 122.
During fabrication, poly ridge 120 is formed to have a maximum width (measured laterally) that is smaller than the minimum feature size that is obtainable with a given photolithographic process. After poly ridge 120 has been formed, emitter region 118 is formed during an annealing step which causes dopants to outdiffuse from poly ridge 120 into base layer 112.
As a result, a very small base-to-emitter junction results. A small base-to-emitter junction limits the magnitude of the current that can flow through transistor 100. Reduced current, in turn, provides lowpower operation. (See xe2x80x9cPoly Emitter Transistor (PRET): Simple Low Power Option to a Bipolar Process,xe2x80x9d Wim van der Wel, et al., IEDM 93-453, 1993, pp. 17.6.1-17.6.4.)
One drawback of transistor 100, however, is that transistor 100 requires the added cost and complexity of a double polysilicon process (extrinsic emitter 116 is formed from a first polysilicon (poly-1) layer, while poly ridge 120 is formed from a second polysilicon (poly-2) layer). In addition, emitter dopant diffusion into base 112 can be less, compared to a conventional single-poly device architecture, due to the possible presence of oxide at the poly1-to-poly2 interface (emitter 116 to poly ridge 120 interface).
Another drawback of transistor 100 is that, although FIG. 1 shows oxide spacer 126 formed on poly ridge 120, in actual practice it is difficult to form an oxide side-wall spacer on a sloped surface. Gaps can result which, in turn, can lead to an electrical short circuit between base layer 112 and extrinsic emitter 116 following the salicidiation process (the process that forms base silicide contact 122 and emitter silicide contact 124). Silicide is not formed on oxide. Thus it is critical that a uniformly thick layer of oxide (spacer 126) separate base layer 112 from extrinsic emitter 116.
A further drawback of transistor 100 is that the slope of the end wall of extrinsic emitter 116 can effect the width of poly ridge 120. Although FIG. 1 shows extrinsic emitter 116 with a vertical end wall, in actual practice, the end wall is often non-vertical, and non-uniform across a wafer that has a number of bipolar transistors. This, in turn, can result in the bipolar transistors having varying performances.
An additional drawback of transistor 100 is that poly ridge 120 is formed around and in contact with each side wall of extrinsic emitter 116. A plan view of extrinsic emitter 116 would show emitter 116 with a square or rectangular shape with poly ridge 120 surrounding emitter 116. As a result, transistor 100 has a large base-to-emitter contact area and a high base-to-emitter capacitance.
Thus, there is a need for a low-power bipolar transistor with a sub-lithographic base-to-emitter junction that reduces, or preferably eliminates, the previously-described drawbacks.
The present invention provides a bipolar transistor that is formed with a single polysilicon process, and has a substantially vertical end wall. The vertical end wall allows a standard oxide side-wall spacer to be formed adjacent to the extrinsic emitter, thereby reducing the likelihood of any base-to-emitter short circuits.
In addition, the present invention forms a sub-lithographic emitter region that reduces the maximum current that can flow through the transistor, thereby reducing power consumption. The present invention also reduces the base-to-emitter capacitance by limiting the base-to-emitter contact area.
The bipolar transistor of the present invention is formed on a wafer that has a buried layer, an epitaxial layer of a first conductivity type that is formed over the buried layer, and an intrinsic base region of a second conductivity type that is formed in the epitaxial layer. The epitaxial layer has a smaller dopant concentration than the buried layer.
The bipolar transistor has an isolation region that formed on the surface of the intrinsic base region. The isolation region has a side wall. The transistor also has an extrinsic emitter region that is formed on the isolation region and the intrinsic base region. The extrinsic emitter region has a side wall. In accordance with the present invention, the side wall of the extrinsic emitter region is substantially aligned with the side wall of the isolation region. In addition, the region of the extrinsic emitter that contacts the intrinsic base has a sub-lithographic feature size.
The bipolar transistor further has an intrinsic emitter region that is formed in the intrinsic base region. The intrinsic emitter region contacts the extrinsic emitter region. The transistor additionally has an isolation spacer that is formed on the intrinsic base region to contact the extrinsic emitter.
The present invention also includes a method for forming a low-power bipolar transistor. The bipolar transistor is formed on a wafer that has a buried layer, an epitaxial layer of a first conductivity type that is formed over the buried layer, and an intrinsic base region of a second conductivity type that is formed in the epitaxial layer. The epitaxial layer has a smaller dopant concentration than the buried layer.
The method of the present invention begins by forming an isolation region on the intrinsic base region. The method includes the steps of forming a layer of conductive material on the isolation region and the intrinsic base region, and etching the layer of conductive material to form an extrinsic emitter on the isolation region and the intrinsic base region.
The method further includes the step of etching the isolation region such that a side wall of the extrinsic emitter and a side wall of the isolation region are substantially aligned. The method additionally includes the steps of forming an intrinsic emitter region in the intrinsic base region, and forming a side-wall spacer on the intrinsic base region to adjoin the extrinsic emitter.